Electric heaters for water tanks have been well known in the art for many years, and generally comprise a metal sheathed heater of hair-pin formation with a metal mounting member connected across the two legs of the sheath. The mounting member was either a plate which was bolted to the tank wall, or a screw plug which was threaded into a fitting on the tank wall. A plastic terminal block was carried by the mounting member and served to electrically insulate the electrical connections from the latter.
The prior art construction required expensive assembly operations and my invention reduces the cost of making a water heater element, and provides other advantages hereinafter described.